As of November, Uniqlo had 851 stores in Japan and 347 outside the country, including five in the United States. The company opened a San Francisco store last fall. Uniqlo specializes in casual wear for men, women and children. The company has aggressive plans to expand in the United States.

Muji, which is part of Ryohin Keikaku company, sells an array of minimalist products, from cloths to kitchen appliances. Specializing in moderately priced items, Muji has a store in San Francisco and plans to open one in downtown San Jose this year. It has another four stores in New York City. As of November, the company had a total of 580 stores -- 387 in Japan and 193 in other countries.